Denali Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,900 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 883 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $45.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $45.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $32.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 20.10%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $0.678 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.03%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 101.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.50 to $46.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.66.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).